Aviation backpack parachute. G. Kotelnikov is the story of one invention of the Russian parachute. Solving technical problems

Gleb Kotelnikov with a test dummy "Ivan Ivanovich".

Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov (1872-1944) was born in St. Petersburg in the family of a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics. After graduating from the Kiev military school in 1894 and having served for three years, he retired. For several years he served as an excise officer in the provinces, taking an interest in amateur theater. In 1910, Kotelnikov returned to St. Petersburg and entered the troupe of the People's House on the St. Petersburg side as an actor.

Kotelnikov with the parachute he invented

In the same year, impressed by the death of the aviator Lev Matsievich, he began to develop an aviation parachute. 10 months of hard work led Kotelnikov to create the world's first free action backpack parachute. In December 1911, Kotelnikov tried to register it in Russia, but for unknown reasons he was unable to obtain a patent. An attempt to register the invention in France turned out to be more successful - on March 20, 1912, Kotelnikov received a patent for the RK1 parachute (Russian, Kotelnikova, 1st model).

The first demonstration tests took place in 1912. On June 2, on the racing highway near Tsarskoye Selo, a test was carried out with the help of a Russo-Balt car, which accelerated to full speed, after which Kotelnikov opened a parachute, which caused the car's engine to stall. Thus, Kotelnikov also became the inventor of the braking parachute. On June 6, RK1 was tested in the camp of the Aeronautical School near the village of Salizi near Gatchina. A mannequin weighing about 80 kg with a parachute attached to it was dropped from a balloon from different heights. All throws were successful, but the Main Engineering Directorate of the Russian Army did not accept Kotelnikov's parachute for production for fear that it would encourage pilots to leave the airplane at the slightest malfunction.

In the winter of 1912-1913, Kotelnikov's business partner Wilhelm Lomakh presented the RK1 parachute at a competition in France. On January 5, 1913, in Rouen, Vladimir Ossovsky, a student of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, made the first jump in history with a backpack parachute from a bridge over the Seine 60 meters high. Kotelnikov's invention was recognized in Europe, where from the middle of 1913 it began to be widely copied on the basis of two PK1 samples sold by Lomakh.

With the outbreak of World War II, the Russian military department remembered the invention of Kotelnikov and ordered him 70 parachutes for Ilya Muromets aircraft. During the war years, RK1 has proven itself from the best side. In addition, Kotelnikov was instructed to develop a parachute that could lower a heavy cannon from the Ilya Muromets after it fired shots at the enemy. Although this idea was ultimately unsuccessful, in the course of the task, Kotelnikov invented and successfully tested the world's first cargo parachute.

What could be more beautiful than free flight? Since ancient times, mankind has been thinking about conquering the blue of the sky, but it was possible to overcome the force of earth's gravity quite recently, just a few centuries ago. Aircraft lighter than air came to the rescue, but much later, at the end of the 19th century, prototypes of modern aircraft appeared. However, the dreams of individual flights still haunted thousands of romantics living on all five continents. In this article, we will recall the history of a brilliant invention that allowed us to experience the sensation of free fall at least for a moment. As you probably guessed, we will talk about a parachute.

It is generally accepted that the first inventor of a structure that was capable of providing soaring and an individual descent to the ground after a high-altitude jump was none other than the Renaissance magician Leonardo da Vinci. The inventor indicated the exact proportions of the canvas sail, which ensured complete safety of the jump. However, the calculations of this great-parachute remained on paper.

Much later, in the 17th century, the prisoner of the prison, the Frenchman Laven, preparing to escape, decided on a desperate experiment. The inventor made a kind of linen tent, attaching a whalebone to it and, jumping out of the window, safely descended onto the water surface.

In Russia, the first skydiver was a certain Aleksandrovsky, who in 1806 made a successful jump from a balloon flying over Moscow.

At the end of the century before last, the parachute was still a curiosity, but it was becoming increasingly popular with the conquerors of the air spaces, who used hot air balloons and airships.

The designs of parachutes used at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, despite numerous improvements and design improvements, did not give a 100% guarantee of a safe landing. Although in connection with the active development of aircraft heavier than air, there was a need for means that could provide a jump overboard and subsequent successful landing.

The pioneer in the development and testing of such parachutes was an ordinary Russian guy Gleb Kotelnikov, who from an early age was an eyewitness to the ascent of the era of aeronautics. Coming from a family of scientists, Gleb was seriously carried away by airplanes, but the accident he observed instantly sobered him up, relieving him of unnecessary illusions. In 1910, Kotelnikov witnessed the disaster that befell the plane of the pilot L. Matsievich. The young inventor, having experienced a real shock, decided at all costs to create a parachute that would help pilots save their lives at all costs.

It took about ten months to develop the first model of the RK-1 parachute (Kotelnikov's first Russian parachute). The designer suggested sewing a dome from thin rubberized silk, the volume of which was easily reduced into a metal backpack. To the lines holding the dome, Gleb attached two adjustable straps, with which the parachutist could easily control the entire structure during the flight. According to calculations, such a dome with a diameter of eight meters and a weight of only 2 kilograms could freely hold a person weighing about 80 kilograms in the air. Unfortunately, the Russian military and officials did not support the inventor, so Kotelnikov was able to obtain a patent for the invention under the number 438,612 only in 1912 in France.

In the summer of 1912, Kotelnikov conducted the first test of his parachute design. Having accelerated in a car, Gleb managed to slow down the vehicle with the help of a parachute opened during the movement. A little later, the RK-1 was tested from an airplane. So, a 200 kg dummy was dropped from the plane, which landed smoothly in the designated area without visible damage. Kotelnikov's parachutes received their baptism of fire already on the fronts of World War I and the Civil War.

The first parachute designed by Kotelnikov RK-1 appeared in 1012. For more than 100 years, the development of parachute technology has continued. The amazing history of the parachute

This is how airplanes and pilots appeared

From time immemorial, people have looked at the sky, at the stars... This tempting depth of height attracted with its inexplicable spaciousness. The creation of the first aircraft that took to the sky was a miracle! Contrary to all the laws of attraction, this building took off from the ground in a run and rushed across the Sky like a huge roaring bird, charming some and frightening others. This is how airplanes and pilots appeared... :)) And to save the pilots in case of an emergency, they began to use long folded umbrellas that were attached to the aircraft. Their design was heavy and unreliable, and in order not to increase the weight of the aircraft, many pilots preferred to fly without this life-saving element - not to use an umbrella in flight.

When the plane crashed, in a rare case, the pilot was able to unfasten the umbrella mount, open it and jump out of the plane to soften the impact on the ground.

On January 18 (30), 1872, in St. Petersburg, a son was born in the family of Kotelnikov, a professor of mechanics and higher mathematics, who from childhood sang, played the violin, often visited the theater with his parents. And this boy also liked to make different toys and models. Gleb, that was the name of the boy, with age in life, his hobbies for theater and design remained.

Invention of the backpack parachute

If not for this story, it is not known when it would have taken place. invention of the backpack parachute.

In 1910, the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival took place in St. Petersburg. A magnificent holiday with several demonstration flights of the best pilot of those times, Lev Makarovich Matsievich. The day before, Stolypin took off into the sky with him, he enthusiastically admired St. Petersburg and its environs.

And on the day of aeronautics, the highest ranks of officers with Matsievich rose to the Sky. And also... influential people... Imagine how happy they were...! Airplane flight...! And there was probably even more pride ... :))

The holiday was in full swing, and the day was drawing to a close, and before the last flight, Matsievich was given a wish from Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich to show something of that kind ... some kind of aviation achievement. And Matsievich went to the record.

He decided to fly as high as possible ... as high as his beloved Farmon-IV, this light, amazingly beautiful, as if translucent, plane could. The maximum flight speed that Farmon could develop was 74 km / h.

It was a very bold and decisive step, because in those days it was believed that the closer to the ground, the safer the flight. Lev Makarovich Matsievich in a set took his Farmon 1000 meters from the ground - this is about half a verst ... and suddenly ... suddenly ... the plane began to fall, scattering in the air ... the pilot fell out of the randomly falling plane ... and following the wreckage of his car, he fell to the ground ... in front of the audience ...

An archival photo of that tragic moment has been preserved. Seconds... and the last meeting with the earth...

This tragedy was deeply embedded in the soul of Gleb Kotelnikov, and he began to develop a system that could save the pilot. A little over a year later, Kotelnikov already tried to register his first business in Russia. invention - backpack parachute free action. But for unknown reasons, he was denied registration of a patent.

On March 20, 1912, after the second attempt, already in France, Kotelnikov received a patent for No. 438,612.

Parachute RK-1

Parachute RK-1(Russian, Kotelnikova, model one) had a round shape and fit into a metal satchel. To the suspension system, which was worn by a person, the knapsack was attached at two points. Kotelnikov divided the parachute lines into two parts and led them to two free ends. A unique reconstruction of the fastening of the canopy to the suspension system took place, which eliminated the involuntary rotation of the parachutist under the canopy, where all the lines were attached to one halyard. In the air, after pulling out the ring, the knapsack opened, at the bottom of which there were springs under the dome ... they threw the dome out of the knapsack ... and without fail ... there was not a single failure ...

Imagine what a strong shock a person experienced after the tragic death of a pilot, and how strong was the desire to save, to exclude the possibility of the pilot's death when the airplane failed in the airspace. Kotelnikov invented all the keys necessary for the normal operation of the parachute system.

The first tests took place on the ground. The car, to which the parachute was attached, accelerated, and Kotelnikov put the parachute into action, which, leaving the satchel, instantly opened, and the car stalled from an unexpected jerk back ... the story says ...

Further tests of the RK-1 parachute system continued from the balloon. The mannequin weighing 80 kg jumped - the best friend of the testers. They threw it from different heights, and all the dummy jumps were successful.

But the parachute system was not accepted into production due to the fact that the Head of the Russian Air Force, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, expressed concern that the pilots, at the slightest failure of the aircraft, would leave the expensive car in the air. Airplanes are expensive and imported from abroad. You need to take care of airplanes, but there will be people. Parachutes are harmful, with them aviators will save themselves at the slightest danger, and the airplane will be destroyed.

No, it’s not like that ... and soon the RK-1 parachute designed by G.E. Kotelnikov was submitted to the competition in Paris and Rouen, and the parachute was represented by the commercial company Lomach and Co.

First parachute jump RK-1. Road to life.

January 5, 1913 in Rouen was committed first parachute jump RK-1 from the bridge over the Seine. Height 60 meters...!!! A magnificent fearless jump was made by a student of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Vladimir Ossovsky...!!! The parachute worked perfectly, showed the possibility of opening when jumping from a low height. It is you and I who now understand how risky this jump was, and in those days we believed that this was the safest jump option, especially since the Seine River below would save in an emergency. But how spectacular the jump turned out to be, you can imagine! The competition went great! The Russian invention was recognized abroad.

In Russia, the tsarist government remembered Kotelnikov's parachute only during the First World War ...

But I remembered... :)

Thanks to the pilot GV Alekhnovich... he managed to convince the command of the need to supply the crews of multi-engine aircraft with RK-1 parachutes. The first production of backpack parachute systems for aviators began under the control of Kotelnikov.

A new system was created, the RK-2 parachute.

Kotelnikov was not satisfied with a metal satchel with springs. Create, so create! And there was a parachute RK-3 with a soft pack, in which the springs were replaced with honeycombs for laying slings - this slinging technique is used to this day.

Cargo parachute RK-4 was created in 1924, the Dome with a diameter of 12 meters was designed for a load of up to 300 kg.

Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov paved the way to Heaven, created something that immediately took off and went into rapid development. All tests were successful, which meant that the path was right.

In 1926, Kotelnikov handed over all his inventions to the Soviet government.

A parachute statue.

The inscription on the monument: "In the area of ​​this village in 1912, the world's first aviation backpack parachute, created by G.E. Kotelnikov, was tested" But already 100 years have passed ... Thank you for the joy, smart Kotelnikov!

In St. Petersburg there is an alley Kotelnikova

At the Novodevichy cemetery, the grave of Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov is a place where paratroopers constantly tie ribbons and parachute puffs to trees.

Now, 100 years later, the Scientific Research Institute of Parachute Engineering has created a magnificent parachute system that is being tested -

Forgotten pages of the Great War

Parachute Kotelnikov

Kotelnikov with a parachute

own invention

The word "parachute" consists of two words and, translated from French, literally means "against falling." In the summer of 1917, parachutes appeared in the army.

It would seem that since the word is French, therefore, the subject itself was invented in France. Although this rule does not always work. For example, the famous Olivier salad has a clearly French name, but was created in Russia. And so it was with the parachute. The inventor of the first modern parachute was a Russian self-taught designer Gleb Kotelnikov. He patented his brainchild in 1912. Moreover, not only in Russia, but also in several European countries, in particular, France. So there is no doubt about who owns the palm.

The first jump was also made by a Russian man - a student of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Vladimir Ossovsky. He successfully parachuted into the French city of Rouen from a height of 60 meters in January 1913. Gleb Kotelnikov, a career officer in the Russian army who graduated from the Kiev military school and retired after three years of service, did not invent a parachute for entertainment. In October 1910, during the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival, pilot Lev Matsievich died at the Kolomyazhsky airfield near St. Petersburg. He opened a sacrificial list in Russian aviation. The death of Matsievich in front of an audience of many thousands made a tremendous impression, including on the actor of the troupe of the People's House on the Petrograd Side, Gleb Kotelnikov. The retired lieutenant suddenly realized that it was necessary to create a means of salvation for pilots and other aeronauts. And got down to business.

Gleb Kotelnikov with test dummy Ivan Ivanovich

The backpack parachute he created a year later was initially tested on dummies weighing 80 kg. And always successful. However, official structures were in no hurry to accept and put the invention on stream. They proceeded from the statement of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who oversaw the nascent aviation, the meaning of which was that the presence of life-saving equipment on board at the slightest malfunction would provoke the pilot to leave the plane. And airplanes purchased abroad are expensive ... Typical in this sense is the reply from the head of the Electrical Engineering Department of the Main Engineering Directorate (GIU), Lieutenant General Alexander Pavlov (in many materials on this topic, he is erroneously called A.P. Pavlov, although in fact the name - patronymic of the general - Alexander Alexandrovich) wrote: “Returning the drawing and description of the automatically operating parachute of your invention, the SMI notifies that the“ ejector pack ”invented by you does not ensure the reliability of opening the parachute after throwing it out of the pack, and therefore cannot be adopted as a life-saving device... The experiments you have made with the model cannot be considered convincing... In view of the above, the SMI rejects your proposal. It is curious that after about a month, General Pavlov retires. However, the retrograde general could be the result of the instructions of the already mentioned Grand Duke. And it does not matter that all the numerous tests carried out from a stationary and flying balloon and airplane showed the reliability of the design. If anything caused criticism from experts, in particular, the first Russian aviator, later military pilot Mikhail Efimov, it was the weight of the knapsack. With 15 kilograms on your back, movement in the cramped space of aircraft of that time was very difficult. The baskets of balloons did not differ in comfort either.

Military pilot

Gleb Alekhnovich

World War I began, and Lieutenant Kotelnikov was drafted into the army and was sent to the South-Western Front in the automobile troops. However, he was soon recalled to the rear. They remembered "above" about his parachute. And they decided to start introducing the invention into the practice of aeronautic forces and aviation. They decided to start by providing the crews of heavy Ilya Muromets bombers with parachutes. This decision was "pushed through" by military pilot Gleb Alekhnovich, the commander of the Muromets-V crew. Kotelnikov ordered 70 copies. The order was fulfilled, but for two years the parachutes lay dead weight. Military pilots did not use them. There was no order. Yes, experience too.

In the meantime, by the middle of 1916, tethered balloons began to be intensively used as observation points and artillery fire adjustments. From a height, as they say, you can see better. This method of reconnaissance proved to be effective, but also extremely dangerous. German fighters hunted for balloons on both the Western and Eastern fronts with particular passion. After the use of the parachutes of the French company "Jucmes" near Verdun, which saved the lives of several observers, it was no longer necessary to prove the relevance of the use of slings and silk. But the GVTU (former SMI until 1913) acted according to the “good” Russian tradition: instead of using their own invention, which also proved its reliability, they preferred to buy parachutes in France. For gold, of course. Bought 200 pieces. Parachutes were also ordered for Kotelnikov, but their number was scanty.

Inventor

aeronautic

parachute Georges Jucmes

Separately, about the "zhukmes" parachutes. There is a version that this is the author's invention of the famous European aeronaut Georges Jucmes. There is another. After Kotelnikov's backpack parachute was demonstrated in 1912 at an exhibition in France, representatives of the Zhukmes company became interested in it. Fortunately, the invention could be borrowed, since it was represented by the private Russian company Lomach and K, and not at all by the official structures of Russia. In any case, according to the technical characteristics, "zhukmes" lost to RK-1. In an attempt to simplify the design, the French brought the lines into one bundle behind the shoulders of the paratrooper, which deprived him of any opportunity to maneuver and increased the risk of breaking the mount. In the Kotelnikov apparatus, the slings were divided into two bundles and located on the shoulders, which made it possible to control movement in the air.

In May 1917, the training of aircrews in parachuting began. They studied both at the "zhukmes" and at the Russian RK-1. So, for example, on the table of the commander of the Officer Aeronautical School, Lieutenant-General Alexander Kovanko, a report was laid down: “On May 12 (Old Style - author's note), experiments were carried out with Kotelnikov's parachute. Twice, from a height of 200 and 300 meters, a stuffed animal weighing 5 pounds was dropped. Both times the parachute opened, and the stuffed animal smoothly sank to the ground. Then Lieutenant Ostratov got up in the basket, who, putting on a parachute belt, jumped out of the basket from a height of 500 meters. For about three seconds the parachute did not open, and then opened, and Ostratov quite safely sank to the ground. According to Lieutenant Ostratov, he did not feel any painful phenomena during the descent. I consider it necessary to bring to your attention such positive results of the parachute test. A successful parachute descent should give aeronauts greater confidence in parachutes.”

In parallel, there were jumps with a less perfect French apparatus behind them. For example, a lieutenant of one of Anoshchenko's aeronautic detachments took a risk, after which he summarized: "Now we firmly believe in parachutes, we believe that in a dangerous moment they will save us." The day before, a similar attempt was made by Staff Captain Sokolov. He jumped from a height of 700 meters from the side of the balloon basket and landed without damage. Not all training jumps with "zhukmes" ended successfully. In a short period, several aeronauts died. Oddly enough, the statistics of jumps of that time have been preserved. With "zhukmes" 56 jumps were made. 41 were successful. In eight cases, the paratroopers died, in seven they received various injuries. There were only five experienced jumps from RK-1 behind him. And all ended well. By the way, what does the abbreviation RK-1 mean. Very simply: "The Russian Kotelnikov is the first." It looked like this: a satchel in the form of a metal container with a hinged lid at the top, which was fixed with a special belt. Inside the container there is a spiral spring and a plate, which, like a piston, pushed the stacked dome with slings out of the container.

Gleb Evgenievich Kotelnikov died in 1944, having survived the Siege of Leningrad. He had a lot of inventions in the field of parachute construction. Therefore, he rests at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. In St. Petersburg, on the 14th line of Vasilievsky Island, on the house where the inventor lived in 1912-1941, there is a memorial plaque. And the village of Salizi near Gatchina, where the first tests of the RK-1 were carried out, was renamed Kotelnikovo in 1949.

Mikhail BYKOV,

especially for Polevoy Post

In this post, how the parachute was invented and what they wrote about this in the newspapers of the beginning of the last century.

The world's first backpack parachute with a silk dome - that is, the one that is used to this day - was invented by the Russian self-taught designer Gleb Kotelnikov. On November 9, 1911, the inventor received a "protection certificate" (confirmation of acceptance of a patent application) for his "rescue pack for aviators with an automatically ejected parachute." And on June 6, 1912, the first test of a parachute of its design took place.

Here is what the popular magazine of that time Ogonyok wrote about this

Prior to this, there were attempts to invent a life-saving device for aviators:

The creator of what today is called the word "parachute" from childhood was distinguished by a passion for design. But not only: no less than calculations and drawings, he was fascinated by the light of the ramp and music. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that in 1897, after three years of compulsory service, a graduate of the legendary Kiev military school (which General Anton Denikin also graduated from) Gleb Kotelnikov resigned. And after another 13 years, he left the civil service and completely switched to the service of Melpomene: he became an actor in the troupe of the People's House on the Petersburg side and performed under the pseudonym Glebov-Kotelnikov.

The future father of the backpack parachute would have remained a little-known actor if it were not for the talent of the designer and the tragic event: on September 24, 1910, Kotelnikov, who was present at the All-Russian Aeronautics Festival, witnessed the sudden death of one of the best pilots of that time - Captain Lev Matsievich.

His "Farman IV" literally fell apart in the air - it was the first plane crash in the history of the Russian Empire.

From that moment on, Kotelnikova did not leave the idea of ​​​​giving the pilots a chance for salvation in such cases. “The death of a young pilot shocked me so deeply that I decided at all costs to build a device that protects the pilot’s life from mortal danger,” Gleb Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. “I turned my small room into a workshop and worked on the invention for over a year.” According to eyewitnesses, Kotelnikov worked on his idea like a man possessed. The idea of ​​a new type of parachute did not leave him anywhere: neither at home, nor in the theater, nor on the street, nor at rare parties.

The main problem was the weight and dimensions of the device. By that time, parachutes already existed and were used as a means of rescuing pilots, they were a kind of giant umbrellas, reinforced behind the pilot's seat on the plane. In the event of a disaster, the pilot had to have time to gain a foothold on such a parachute and separate with it from the aircraft. However, the death of Matsievich proved that the pilot may simply not have these few moments, on which his life literally depends.

“I realized that it was necessary to create a strong and light parachute,” Kotelnikov later recalled. - Folded, it should be quite small. The main thing is that it is always on the person. Then the pilot will be able to jump from the wing and from the side of any aircraft.” Thus was born the idea of ​​a backpack parachute, which today, in fact, we mean when we use the word "parachute".

“I wanted to make my parachute so that it could always be on a flying person, without restricting his movements as much as possible,” Kotelnikov wrote in his memoirs. — I decided to make a parachute from strong and thin non-rubber silk. Such material gave me the opportunity to put it in a very small satchel. To push the parachute out of the backpack, I used a special spring.

But few people know that the first option for placing a parachute was ... a pilot's helmet! Kotelnikov began his experiments by literally hiding a puppet - since he carried out all the early experiments with a puppet - a parachute in a cylindrical helmet. Here is how the son of the inventor Anatoly Kotelnikov, who was 11 years old in 1910, later recalled these first experiments: “We lived in a dacha in Strelna. It was a very cold October day. The father climbed onto the roof of a two-story house and dropped the doll from there. The parachute worked great. My father escaped joyfully only one word: "Here!" He found what he was looking for!

However, the inventor quickly realized that when jumping with such a parachute, at the moment when the dome opens, the helmet will come off at best, and at worst, the head. And in the end, he transferred the entire structure to a satchel, which he first intended to make from wood, and then from aluminum. At the same time, Kotelnikov divided the lines into two groups, once and for all laying this element into the design of any parachutes. Firstly, it was easier to control the dome. And secondly, it was possible to attach the parachute to the suspension system at two points, which made the jump and opening more convenient and safe for the parachutist. This is how the suspension system appeared, which is still used almost unchanged today, except that there were no leg loops in it.

As we already know, the official birthday of the backpack parachute was November 9, 1911, when Kotelnikov received a protection certificate for his invention. But why he did not succeed in the end to patent his invention in Russia, still remains a mystery. But two months later, in January 1912, Kotelnikov's invention was announced in France and received a French patent in the spring of that year. On June 6, 1912, the parachute was tested in the Gatchina camp of the Aeronautical School near the village of Salizi: the invention was demonstrated to the highest ranks of the Russian army. Six months later, on January 5, 1913, Kotelnikov's parachute was presented to the foreign public: Vladimir Ossovsky, a student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, jumped with it in Rouen from a 60-meter-high bridge.

By this time, the inventor had already finalized his design and decided to give her a name. He called his parachute RK-1 - that is, "Russian, Kotelnikova, the first." So in one abbreviation, Kotelnikov combined all the most important information: the name of the inventor, and the country to which he owed his invention, and his primacy. And secured it for Russia forever.

“Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing ...”

As is often the case with domestic inventions, they cannot be appreciated for a long time at their true worth in their homeland. So, alas, it happened with a backpack parachute. The first attempt to provide them to all Russian pilots stumbled upon a rather stupid refusal. “Parachutes in aviation are generally a harmful thing, since pilots, at the slightest danger threatening them from the enemy, will escape by parachutes, providing planes of death. Cars are more valuable than people. We import cars from abroad, so they should be protected. And there will be people, not those, so others! - such a resolution was imposed on Kotelnikov's petition by the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.

With the outbreak of war, parachutes were remembered. Kotelnikov was even involved in the production of 70 backpack parachutes for the crews of the Ilya Muromets bombers. But in the cramped conditions of those aircraft, satchels interfered, and the pilots abandoned them. The same thing happened when the parachutes were handed over to the aeronauts: it was inconvenient for them to fiddle with satchels in the cramped observers' baskets. Then the parachutes were pulled out of the packs and simply attached to the balloons - so that the observer, if necessary, simply jumped overboard, and the parachute would open itself. That is, everything returned to the ideas of a century ago!

Everything changed when, in 1924, Gleb Kotelnikov received a patent for a backpack parachute with a canvas backpack - RK-2, and then finalized it and called it RK-3. Comparative tests of this parachute and the same, but the French system showed the advantages of the domestic design.

In 1926, Kotelnikov transferred all rights to his inventions to Soviet Russia and did not invent anymore. On the other hand, he wrote a book about his work on the parachute, which went through three reprints, including one in the difficult year of 1943. And the backpack parachute created by Kotelnikov is still used all over the world, having withstood, figuratively speaking, more than a dozen "reissues". Is it a coincidence that today’s paratroopers certainly come to Kotelnikov’s grave at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, tying stop tapes from their domes on the branches of trees around ...